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Vegas may have just gotten better, if that’s even possible.  Instead of playing the slots for coin, you can now play for an adult beverage or two.   The BarBot was created by a team at the hacker collective in NYC Resistor as part of a competition hosted by the video content company VIMBY and carmaker Scion.

The group bought a retired slot machine off of Craigslist and added graphics to it with a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas theme, thinking it would tie the concept of gambling in with drinking.

Drinks are determined by the wires soldered onto coils inside the machine.  The coils magnetically turn the rotors in three spinning wheels while a computer detects the winning combination.  The machine is programmed to stop only on mixes that a bartender’s manual would know.  It also will pay out tokens, but yields a drink or a re-spin for a drink each and every time.

The computer will receive the result and sends ingredients and proportions for the drink to a microcontroller. The microcontroller directs a bar unit found within the machine that holds alcohol and mixers.  The microcontroller uses solenoid valves to dispense the ingredients in timed quantities.  A LED screen then tells the player what has been served, along with witty quotes from the Fear and Loathing movie.

The unit sales for $3,000. Imagine the drinking games one could play.

Tags: barbot, alcoholic drinks, hacker competition
Categories: Betting on Anything